Ian Butler of Western State is safely qualified for DII Indoor Nationals in both the 3000 and 5000. Colorado Track XC file photo by Alan Versaw.
I'm not going to pretend I know the calculus behind how many athletes qualify for DII Indoor Nationals in each event because, frankly, I don't know.
I do know anyone who has achieved an auto-qualifying standard goes to Nationals. I know an athlete must have at least a provisional qualifying mark to go to nationals, but not all with provisional qualifying marks go.
So, for the purposes of this article, I'm listing all Colorado high school alums currently listed in the top 20s of their events, plus any beyond that who have auto-qualifying marks. That will at least give us a decent idea of who might be going.
I'll also admit to a fear of missing an athlete or two or three. Please feel welcome to help me out if you find any that I miss. For a couple of different reasons, this is more difficult than listing the DI athletes (and I missed one of those in my first pass over the rankings).
In any case, here's what I came up with in a first pass over the current national rankings of DII athletes:
Men
60 Meters - Chaz Butler, Adams State, 6.75, 7th
200 Meters - Jordan Edwards, Academy of Art, 21.54, 13th; Chaz Butler, Adams State, 21.60, 16th (tie)
400 Meters - Jordan Edwards, Academy of Art, 46.64 (auto), 1st
800 Meters - Robin Butler, Western State, 1:49.08 (auto), 2nd; Shane Niksic, Colorado Mesa, 1:51.02, 12th
Mile - Marty Andrie, Colorado Mines, 4:05.33, 7th; Jackson Sayler, Adams State, 4:07.56, 11th; Keifer Johnson, Western State, 4:08.04, 13th
3000 - Marty Andrie, Colorado Mines, 8:07.82, 2nd; Ian Butler, Western State, 8:11.86, 7th
5000 - Ian Butler, Western State, 14:11.94, 5th
60 Meter Hurdles - Chris Cutcher, Chadron State, 8.03, 15th
4x400 - Jordan Edwards, Academy of Art, 3:13.91, 11th
DMR - numerous, to include Devundrick Walker (CSU-Pueblo), Dueth Vassall (CSU-Pueblo), Marty Andrie (Colorado Mines), Ryan Boucher (Metro State), Carson Aberle (UCCS), Kyle McCloskey (UCCS)
High Jump - Seun Ogunmodede, Colorado Mines, 6-11, 9th (tie)
Long Jump - Seun Ogunmodede, Colorado Mines, 25-0 (auto), 4th; Robert Carlson, Metro State, 23-11.5, 10th
Triple Jump - Seun Ogunmodede, Colorado Mines, 49-2.25, 15th
Women
800 Meters - Breanna Hemming, Metro State, 2:12.16, 17th
Mile - Maura O'Brien, Adams State, 4:50.47, 7th; Breanna Hemming, Metro State, 4:53.94, 13th; Rachael Lopez, CSU-Pueblo, 4:55.32, 19th
3000 Meters - Lauren Martin, Adams State, 9:30.85 (auto), 4th; Maura O'Brien, Adams State, 9:44.13, 19th
5000 Meters - Hannah McIntyre, Hillsdale, 16:56.43, 9th
DMR - numerous, to include Maura O'Brien (Adams State), Melissa Roberts (Adams State), McKenzie Zeman (Colorado Mines), Miriam Roberts (CSU-Pueblo), Rachael Lopez (CSU-Pueblo), Alyssa Evans (CSU-Pueblo), Sydni Riley (CSU-Pueblo), Beth Luckel (Southwest Baptist)
Pole Vault - Kimberly Peterson, Sioux Falls, 12-11.5, 3rd
Weight Throw - Mel Herl, Chadron State, 61-2.25, 10th